It’s not necessarily a compliment to Stan Kasten to say that the presidents race is the best thing the Washington Nationals have going, but let’s just say that with half the starters on the DL and the team flirting with the worst record in baseball, the awards this year will be few and far between.

Regular readers know that the Washington Nationals presidents race was named best on-field promotion of 2007 by Gameops.com, a web site which connects sports teams and
event producers with ideas and tools
for on-field promotions.

GameOps editor John Cudo, who works for the Cleveland Cavaliers
and himself spent 7 years as the
mascot for the Minnesota Timberwolves, reported this week that the Washington Nationals presidents race has been nominated again for best on-field promotion of 2008.

According to Cudo, the annual Best Of awards are among the most popular features of their site. Nominations come from readers and are judged by a panel of industry leaders and insiders. “The decision (last year) was overwhelming and simple,” Cudo told me via email. “Nearly everyone who had an opinion held the race in DC in very high regard.”

I’m rooting for the racing presidents to pull off the repeat. It may be Teddy’s best chance to claim a victory this year.